'The Amazing Race' eliminates Arun Kumar and Natalia Kumar before Season 33 production shutdown amid COVID-19

The Amazing Race eliminated Arun Kumar and Natalia Kumar in Scotland right before production on Season 33 shut down in February 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic during Wednesday night's episode on CBS.


The "Father and Daughter" team were ousted from the Race at the end of the third leg once they arrived at the Pit Stop in Glasgow, Scotland and met The Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan in tenth -- and last -- place.

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"Dad, you did amazing!" Natalia shouted with happiness despite losing the leg.

"I am so happy that I did this, and she is getting married soon and this is the best experience any father could have hoped for," Arun shared.


The Amazing Race's two-episode event that aired last week featured back-to-back legs in London, England.

"Singing Police Officers" Michael Norwood and Armonde "Moe" Badger got eliminated in Leg 1, and then the second leg turned out to be a non-elimination leg.

The remaining ten teams were told to keep racing and travel north by train for more than 400 miles to Glasgow, Scotland.

Teams found their next clue on the windshield of one of many cars awaiting them.

Before Arun and Natalia boarded the train, Arun said he wanted to do this race with his daughter because they had watched the show all their lives and Natalia was about to get married in June 2020.


But "Dating Couple" Caro Viehweg and Ray Gantt were learning more and more about each other every day.

"Being in a new relationship, you don't know much about the person. I've never seen him in a stressful situation, but hey, that's what we signed up for!"

All of the teams hopped on the same train to Scotland, and "YouTube Sensations" Taylor Green-Jones and Isaiah Green-Jones ripped open their clue in first place.

Taylor and Isaiah were followed by "Married Couple" Connie Greiner and Sam Greiner in second place, "Internet Personalities" Kim Holderness and Penn Holderness in third place, and then "Childhood Friends" Anthony Sadler and Spencer Stone in fourth place.

"Best Friends" Ryan Ferguson and Dusty Harris were racing in fifth.


The teams learned they must drive themselves across Scotland's largest city to Glasgow's west end and find Oran Mor, a beautiful stone church, where they'd pick up their next clue.

Ray had just learned to drive a stickshift a couple of weeks before going on the Race, so he had some trouble starting his car.

Kim and Penn made it to the church in first place and discovered one member of each team had to complete a Roadblock task, which teased, "Who thinks they have this one in the bag?"

Kim opted to do the task, which required the participating Racers to join a Scottish bagpipe band by assembling a bagpipe using a bag, a bag cover, a mouthpiece, pipes and more.

Once assembled, the Racers had to play a note for the length of a traditional Scottish anthem, and then, once done successfully, the pipe major would hand a team its next clue.


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Anthony and Spencer found their clue in second place, followed by Ryan and Dusty.

Spencer and Dusty chose to do the Roadblock task.

Meanwhile, Arun went down the wrong route on the highway once it split despite his daughter's correct direction instructions.

Kim finished the Roadblock in first place, and her team ripped open their next clue in first place, which sent them to the Walter MacFarlane-built Saracen Fountain in Alexandra Park.


Dusty wrapped up the task in second place, and Spencer wasn't far behind him.

But "Married Educators" Akbar Cook Sr. and Sheridan Cook appeared to get stuck in stop-and-go traffic, which was hard for Akbar, a new driver.

As for Caro and Ray, they bickered as Ray drove the car to the church. His car "bottomed out," which made Caro whimper in the backseat. And Ray snapped at his girlfriend saying she should get a license and drive or not stress him out so much.

"Twins and Radio Hosts" Marianela "Lulu" Gonzalez and Marissa "Lala" Gonzalez arrived at the church in fourth place, and Lala decided to take on the task.

Arun and Natalia made it to the Roadblock in fifth place, and Natalia opted to do the task.

"Flight Attendants" Raquel Moore and Cayla Platt got to the church next.


Taylor and Isaiah eventually arrived to the task in ninth place, and Akbar and Sheri arrived at the church in tenth -- and last -- place.

The res of the Racers who attempted the Roadblock task were Sam, Raquel, Caro, Isaiah, and Akbar.

Arun and Natalia completed the Roadblock in fifth place and then spent about five minutes helping another team, which they later regretted.

Arun and Natalia were then followed by Lulu and Lala in sixth place, Connie and Sam, Raquel and Cayla in seventh place, Caro and Ryan in eighth place, Akbar and Sheri in ninth place and Taylor and Isaiah in tenth place.

Isaiah didn't realize he needed to "dress" his bagpipe by putting a satin cover on it.

Meanwhile, Kim and Penn made it to the fountain in first place and learned they must complete one of two possible Detour tasks: "Kilt" or "Rebuilt."


"Kilt" required teams to put on a show of their own. Wearing full Scottish attire, including a kilt, the team members must sing and perform a famous song. A note-perfect performance would result in the team receiving their next clue.

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"Rebuilt" required the teams to repair two whiskey barrels by hammering their heads and replacing their tops. Once the barrels were ready to roll, they'd receive their next clue.

Kim and Penn chose to sing and dance since they make goofy family videos for a living.

Anthony and Spencer got to the Detour next, and they were then followed by Ryan and Dusty. Both teams chose to do the whiskey barrels.

Raquel and Cayla, racing in fourth place, chose "Rebuilt as well as Connie and Sam in fifth place.


Sixth-place Racers Caro and Ray agreed to repair a whiskey barrel, and Lulu and Lala in seventh place opted to perform a song.

Arun and Natalia, in eighth place at this point in the leg, chose to take on "Rebuilt." However, Natalia seemed to quickly regret that decision once she realized how physical and challenging the task turned out to be.

"I don't think we're going to get this," Natalia told her dad.

"I won't be able to memorize the song," Arun responded.

After working hard for a while, Natalia convinced her dad to switch tasks since her strengths are dancing and singing. She said she was not going to lose hope just yet.

Taylor and Isaiah received their Detour clue in ninth place and chose "Kilt" because they had a dancing-wedding video go viral and also like to sing, and then Akbar and Sheri raced to the "Kilt" task in last place.


Kim and Penn finished the Detour in first place and were instructed to drive to the University of Glasgow, the fourth oldest university in the English-speaking world, which would serve as the Pit Stop for the third leg of the Race.

Ryan and Dusty raced to the Pit Stop in second place, with Anthony and Spencer on their heels in third.

Connie and Sam completed the Detour in fourth place, and they were followed by Raquel and Cayla in fifth place and then Caro and Ray in sixth.

Lulu and Lala raced to the university in seventh place, and then Taylor and Isaiah jumped ahead of Arun and Natalia by leaving the Detour in eighth place.

Arun and Natalia were aware they were one of the last two teams still racing the leg, along with Akbar and Sheri. Arun struggled to memorize and recite the correct lyrics, and he became very frustrated.

"Come on, Dad, I believe in you!" Natalia said, cheering her father on in light of Arun's apparent racing weakness.


Akbar and Sheri passed the father and daughter team in ninth place and were thrilled about not having to leave the Detour in last place.

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Arun cried about failing the challenge and letting his daughter down, but Natalia insisted he had done his very best and she's "so proud" to have him as a dad, which also made her cry.

"Dad, you didn't fail me!" Natalia said in an emotional moment.

After the Scottish leg, Kim and Penn met The Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan on the Pit Stop mat in first place.

For winning the leg, Kim and Penn received a five-night trip for two to Cape Cod in Massachusetts.


Ryan and Dusty completed the leg as Team No. 2, which made Anthony and Spencer Team No. 3.

Connie and Sam met Phil at the Pit Stop in fourth place, and Caro and Ray finished the leg as the fifth-place team.

Raquel and Cayla made it to the Pit Stop in sixth place, followed by Lulu and Lala in seventh place.

Taylor and Isaiah ran to Phil in eighth place while Akbar and Sheri got a little lost and were looking for the Pit Stop.

Despite losing their way, Akbar and Sheri stepped on the Pit Stop mat in ninth place, and the team was overjoyed to have survived another leg.

"This leg was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life," Akbar confessed to the cameras. "And I've done some things!... How dare I get in front of everyone and give up? That never crossed my mind. We were going to get here rain, sleet or snow."


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And finally, Arun and Natalia hustled to the Pit Stop as the tenth -- and last -- place team, and Phil informed them, "You have been eliminated from the Race."

"It sucks and it's disappointing," Arun noted. "We finished in the Top 3 yesterday and we could have done well."

Natalia said spending this time with her father and experiencing three legs with him -- "and being competitive and goofy with him -- was "great."

"We'll never forget this," Natalia gushed.

Suddenly, a graphic flashed across the screen that read, "February 28, 2020."


Phil gathered the teams together to announce, "The Amazing Race has traveled over a million miles around the world and visited almost 100 countries. And from Day 1, our No. 1 priority has been to make sure that all of you are safe."

"Right now, the world is dealing with the coronavirus, and in order to keep you safe, we believe the best choice for all of us is to suspend the Race. In an ideal world, the planets will align and we will pick this Race back up again."

Phil added, "And hopefully have all of you starting the Race again. We understand the sacrifices all of you have made, and we know to have you all come back and start back on this race again would be challenging."

The teams had very quickly bonded like a family, and while they appeared disappointed, everyone kept a smile on his or her face.

Phil told the teams they could return home, regroup, and come back "better and faster" than they were in the beginning.

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"You guys are one of a kind, and we want to see you go home safe to your families," Phil announced. "Thank you very much!"

And a whopping 19 months later, The Amazing Race picked back up in St. Gallen, Switzerland with most of the teams having returned, and Phil addressed the group and said the world had been waiting for them to resume racing.

With that being said, the episode ended on a cliffhanger.







About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski